Chimera
by Renaerys
Summary: When princes slaughter their own heroes, only monsters are left to fight the battles of ordinary men. And within every beauty, a beast lies dormant and hungry, waiting for the day the world burns to rise from the ashes. [History of the Bloody Mist's rise and fall through the 4th War. Mei-centric.]
1. Outcast

Chimera, chapter 1: Outcast  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
Rating: M  
World: AU Ninjaverse  
Notes: **Please see the A/N at the end for important notes on this piece.**

"I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it." - Niccoló Machiavelli

* * *

Terumī Mei was six years old when she witnessed her first kill.

She only remembered because the spray of blood across her face reminded her of the cool kisses left by breaking waves against the rocky shores of Kirigakure when the tide comes in, bringing with it the fisher boats and their daily haul. Except these kisses were warm and sticky, and the longer she stood there the more her face began to itch.

_Liar._

She would never forget how easy and fluid he'd made it look. For a boy of nine, he was gifted beyond his years. Small wonder he would go down in history as the Monster of the Bloody Mist.

"The winner is Hoshigaki Kisame!" the proctor announced to the small crowd of gathered children and adult overseers.

A nudge at her side snapped Mei's attention from the carnage surrounding the young new graduate, his eyes narrowed and unreadable as he glared at the mangled corpse of his opponent. The boy standing next to her tapped her hand and she looked down. He pressed a blood-stained cloth into her palm. It was damp from use, and when Mei looked up she noticed the faint smears of blood across his face, too. Biting her lip, she accepted the small gift and hastily wiped her face, smearing more blood into the soiled fabric.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," came the soft-spoken voice of the venerated Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. "On behalf of the great Village Hidden in the Mist, I hereby congratulate you on your victory. From this day forth, you are a prized Genin. I expect you'll become an asset to me and my people."

Kisame bowed formally, a queer gesture considering he was covered in bone marrow and chunks of ripped flesh. A team of Chuunin on duty were already clearing the remains of his opponent, a fleshy boy of nine or ten years, out of the arena. Mei could only wonder how he'd managed to mutilate that corpse with only one curved kunai.

_They call him a genius, and a monster besides._

"Thank you, Mizukage-sama," he said, voice raspy as though he'd forgotten how to talk.

The proctor, a thin man with stringy hair and a complexion like the underbelly of a toad, nodded and told Kisame he was dismissed for the day. He was called Shin'ichi, but no one ever called him that. It was always only 'sir' to his face. Like the others, Mei had learned early on to keep her head down and agree with everything he said. No sense in earning a beating for a slip up. Shin'ichi beckoned to the next round of contestants. No one in this year's graduating class was over the age of ten. Kiri was efficient like that—take them while they're young and green, all the better to harden the heart. Hearts of steel don't shatter or bleed.

Mei bit her tongue at a sudden involuntary urge to gag as she got a good whiff of the blood staining the faces of her classmates and herself. It took all the willpower in her tiny body not to, lest she draw the ire of the overseers. Next to her, golden eyes peered askance at her, almost accusatory. Mei kept her gaze steadfastly ahead. There would be time later, she thought—precious moments away from cold eyes and colder hands.

Four more hours of standing here, all in a neat line like good little school children, and they were finally dismissed. The rag she'd used to wipe her face was now dripping with the blood of the fallen. Yagura stood and congratulated the new graduates as the half that had fallen to their classmates and friends were carted off to watery graves.

"Let today be a lesson to all of you. Only the strong survive and make our village great. I look forward to the day the best among you join my shinobi ranks."

No one said anything; they just kept their eyes downcast. Yagura did not like to be looked in the eye by anyone he deemed beneath him, and Mei and the others were hardly better than dirt under his shoe, if even that.

"_Don't attract attention to yourself," _her father had told her. _"Stay ugly and unimportant, little rat, and maybe you'll make it out in one piece."_

It was the only good he'd ever done her.

Hunching her shoulders and following closely behind the boy in front of her, Mei skittered out of the arena, small and invisible behind her short auburn hair. Once outside, the boy with the golden eyes grabbed her hand and pulled her into a nearby alleyway before any of the overseers could catch them and come up with an excuse to dole out lashes. She let him tug her through the shadows, past faded red lanterns over back doorways and stray cats whose hungry eyes followed their flight. They didn't stop until they were near the rocky shores, the fishermen's ward.

"You hungry?" he asked, hand still gripping hers.

"Yeah."

He nodded and they set off between the stalls and shacks concealing the day's wares. Sea salt hung in the mist rolling off the sea, and Mei took a deep breath. It was refreshing after the coppery tang of blood. The women in the streets passed them by, carrying baskets of clams and freshly pulled seaweed. Mei did not miss how they averted their eyes when they saw them. Blood on children's faces was a common sight, but the beast wearing a boy's skin was not.

"Utakata," Mei said, trying to ignore the flare of anger at their fear. "Over there."

"Smells good. Come on!" Utakata said, oblivious to the the civilians' stares. Or maybe he'd just learned to ignore them. Mei could never tell through the cheeky grins he wore like armor.

Ten minutes later the pair sat on a dock with their legs dangling over the edge above the rippling water, munching on fried squid rings. Mei sucked the grease from her fingers, uncaring that there might still be some blood stuck under her nails from the earlier holocaust known as Academy Graduation. Around here, it was best to eat while one could instead of raising complaint.

A boat pulled into the dock just then, and a group of fishermen moored her to a nearby pockmarked post. They made to unload their cargo, but as soon as they caught sight of Mei and Utakata not four feet away, they paused. Whispers drifted to Mei's ears upon chilly sea spray.

"...gotta sit here, o' all places?"

"...that boy..."

"...shoulda docked at Pier Four."

Mei stared at the whispering fisherfolk through salt- and blood-crusted bangs, her previous anger returning. Utakata sensed her mounting fury and put a hand on her wrist.

"Let's just go."

"No."

A familiar burning sensation swirled in her lungs as chakra began to build up and concentrate in her throat. Acid mist escaped her chapped lips in wisps of pale smoke, curling around the nearest wooden post and melting it like ice under fire. The whispering fishermen suddenly became alarmed. They, like all the other civilians in this place, knew about the child terrors being trained up as part of the Bloody Mist's regimen, even if they didn't fully comprehend the powers of a shinobi. To them, it was all some kind of black magic, unnatural and not to be trifled with.

"Stop it."

Utakata grabbed a fistful of her shirt and shook it once to get her attention. Mei was startled out of her concentration, the interruption disrupting her chakra flow and cancelling her technique. In the distraction, the fishermen had disconnected from the dock and jetted south a ways to the next dock.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"You can't kill fishers. You'll get in trouble," Utakata defended.

"You heard what they said."

"Yeah, I heard. I always hear. But if I killed everyone who looks at me funny, then everyone in Mist would be dead, even you."

Mei paused, wanting to tell him, "No, you're wrong," but she knew he wasn't. She'd feared him once, too, out of ignorance and blind adherence to the words of others. She rubbed her upper arm. Even after all these months, sometimes she could still feel the twisting pain of her father's bony fingers yanking her to and fro when he'd found out she associated with the Jinchuuriki.

"_Don't need you drawing more attention to us, little rat. I'll wring your neck before the Fourth wrings mine, mark my words."_

Mei never talked about her life with her father ever again. As a member of Yagura's council, he had an image to uphold. But Yagura was a crafty little worm. He surrounded himself with civilians and low-level shinobi like her father, unremarkable and completely forgettable. After the coup that happened years before her birth, the Fourth was too paranoid to keep high ranking shinobi around outside of his personal ANBU guard. If her father wasn't all the family she had left in the world, she wondered if she'd try to run away.

_He'd like that._

"Sorry," Mei said.

Utakata peered at her for a moment longer. At seven years old, he was older than her and thus wiser, a fact he liked reminding her of. It was better not to upset him, they all said, because the thing that lived inside him might come out to fight back. But Mei was certain he'd never try to hurt her. She was his only friend, after all.

"'S okay." The grin he flashed her didn't reach his eyes. "C'mon. I'll walk you home."

Mei nodded and wiped her mouth. The acidic mist always made her lips itch after she used it, and she didn't want her father finding out. He hated it when she did anything related to ninjutsu. It was simply a reminder of why they had no family anymore.

"Okay."

Fog followed them like slow waves, beating them onwards as they trudged back to the lives they'd escaped for a few precious hours.

* * *

"Uzumaki Mamoru."

"He led the Rebellion of the Five Seas."

"Good. And his eldest son?"

"Uzumaki...Kiyoshi. Um, he killed the Lord of Talessa and took his castle."

"Don't say 'um', girl. Either you know it or you don't."

Mei bit the inside of her cheek, tongue growing hot with the power of the sun resting dormant within her. But she held herself back. "Yes, Father."

Hanada Yuu peered down at her over his hooked nose, green eyes looking for the slightest hint of insubordination. He was a middle-aged man with more gray hairs than blond, weathered skin like beaten leather from too much sand and salt exposure, and stubble that grew in patches reminiscent of prepubescent boys. Mei had inherited her mother's clan name in honor of her manifest bloodline limits as befitted respectable Mist shinobi. Yuu, who was more likely to cut himself than any enemy with a curved kunai, married into the clan until it was decimated. Even in her young mind, Mei knew he blamed her for it all, from her mother's death on her birthing bed to the subsequent elimination of the rest of the clan upon the discovery of Mei's potential for greatness (or terror) unmatched by any other living Terumī. Never before had the family produced a child with access to _both _its secret bloodline techniques. Yagura, seeing an opportunity to remind everyone of his ruthless ways, ordered the rest of them executed. Why keep twenty when one alone will suffice?

Yuu was spared not for his position in Yagura's council or even for his lack of blood relation to his wife's clan, but because he was a weak man and no threat. Yagura liked to keep mementos of his great deeds.

"This should all be second nature to you," her father prattled on. "If you're going to be one of the Fourth's personal guards one day, you'll have to know these things. How else will you be able to assess a threat borne of old grudges or past wrongs?"

"Yes, Father."

"If only you weren't so slow. Well, there's nothing to it but to keep at it. Am I clear?"

Mei nodded. "Yes, Father. I'll try harder next time."

"You better. Now go, leave me."

Mei rose and left the study as quickly and soundlessly as her little feet could carry her. Once out of sight, she broke into a jog down the stone hallways, following the winding corridor past closed doors that would likely never be opened again. It was cold in here without any people to fill the empty spaces. Sometimes, she would make up stories about the relatives who'd once lived behind those closed doors. An uncle, reticent but kind, who would have spoiled Mei rotten for being born a rare woman in the clan. A cousin, gifted with inborn talent and sometimes scary, but willing to set aside time to help her become a better shinobi. And her mother, a caring woman whose strength was surpassed only by her love for the daughter she'd never known.

Mei hurried to her small room a little faster. It was trouble to dwell on those thoughts. Her father had caught her staring at one of the locked doors once, fantasies getting the better of her, and had smacked her hard across the cheek for it.

"_Shinobi don't cry. It's bad enough you're a woman, but I won't have you acting like one."_

Reaching her room, Mei closed the door behind her and let out a shuddery breath. Here she could be alone, free from her father's vacuous eyes and the strange ghosts lurking in rooms she could not enter. The room was Spartan and unremarkable. A small twin bed sat against the far wall with a squat chest beneath to house her scant shinobi gear. There was one window with polished wooden shutters—rosewood. For all the wealth of the Terumī clan, Mei's father never seemed keen on spending any of it. But living in an empty house full of trapped shadows had been the only life she'd ever known. Mei had no use for nice clothes anyway, not when she dragged them through sea and sand training at the Academy.

After shutting her door (she didn't lock it because her father hated when she did), Mei walked to the large antique mirror she'd hauled in from what used to be a powder room. The girl staring back at her had ratty hair down to her chin and a chubby face. Even in the dim light of a small bedside lamp, the green of her eyes was bright. But it wasn't her own reflection she liked to look at. Small hands traced the painstakingly carved designs in the brass frame of the mirror. There were shells, hundreds of them, seemingly fused into the metal work—so intricate was the design. As her fingers ran across their grooves, Mei wondered if her mother had touched this very mirror once.

Tapping on her window drew her attention, and Mei cautiously peeked through the shutters. A dark figure, short and blurry through the thick fog, looked up at her. She didn't need to ponder the identity of the person waiting beneath her window; only one person ever came to visit her.

"Come out!" Utakata whispered through cupped hands, as though this would ensure only Mei could hear him.

"I can't. Father'll find out."

The man had begun checking in on her late at night without warning since she started at the Academy. Unwilling to risk a smack in the face or worse should he discover her out of bed at all hours of the night, Mei instead opted to drag out her days at the Academy and return as late as was permissible. But at times like these, when her father was in a sour mood and she felt a little lonely, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

"Then I'll come up," Utakata said, already starting up the wall to the second story.

"No, you can't!"

"Can _too_!" He was at her window in a matter of seconds, grinning through the damp mat of bangs that usually concealed half his face. "Don't make such a fuss."

There was no fighting him when he decided something. Mei retreated to her bed and hugged her knees to her chest.

"You shouldn't be here," she reiterated. "If Father finds out—"

"You worry too much. I'm a Jinchuuriki, I can do _anything_."

Mei frowned. "Not everything."

Utakata flopped down on the bed and stretched his legs across Mei's feet. "Oh, yeah? Like what?"

Mei stared at her knees, ashamed but empowered by the familiarity between them. He would understand, more than anyone. Surely.

"You can't be like them."

Utakata said nothing for awhile as he appeared to doze with his hands folded behind his head.

"Maybe I don't wanna be like them."

Mei's eyes snapped to his, which were closed. "You don't mean that."

He cracked an eye open. "Yeah, I do."

Mei straightened her legs and pushed Utakata's legs off the bed in the process. He sat up.

"No, you don't," she bit out. "You don't wanna be an outcast. Being an outcast means being a target. You don't want that."

"No," he said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. "_You _don't want that."

"Utakata—"

"No, listen to me. I know you. I'm the _only _one who knows you. And I know you don't hafta be afraid. You're not alone."

"I _am_ alone!"

He leaned back, but she hadn't succeeded in disrupting him. Utakata slipped off the bed and glared down at her.

"Shut up," he said, his voice low and feral. "Don't you _dare_ say that. Like I'm not even here. Not _you_." He blinked rapidly and stared at the floor, shaking. "Not you."

Mei bit her lower lip to hide the tick in her throat. She scooted forward and reached for him.

"Don't!"

But she didn't let his outburst faze her. Slipping off the bed, Mei stood up and forced Utakata into a tight embrace. She buried her face in his shoulder, ashamed. It was a rare sight to see her cry, but Utakata was one of the privileged allowed to witness it. She blinked hard and held him close, even though he didn't move to return the embrace.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry."

She held onto him, clung to him, even. And finally, he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're not alone," he whispered into her tangled hair.

Mei let out a tremored sob. Worthless. Absolutely worthless. He was _him_, a Jinchuuriki of the Bloody Mist, and she was crying to him about her worries.

_Worthless._

Maybe her father had a point.

"I'm sorry," she whispered against his neck.

_You're not alone, either._

But the words never came.

And Utakata had never been the type to need to hear them.

* * *

The next two years Mei spent at the Academy dragged on and on. She and Utakata rose in the ranks, but that was to be expected. Whispers followed her everywhere, but when Mei turned all she could find was silence. They were scared of her, she thought. No one wanted to face the girl with the sun in her veins. To hide their fear, they did the only thing they could: they picked on her.

"Hey look, it's Mei the Stray. When's the last time you bathed?"

"Probably in the ocean with the Jinchuuriki. Water rats, the both of 'em."

"Aw what's wrong? You gonna cry to your mommy? Oh wait, you ain't got a mommy!"

Mei glared at them through her dirty bangs. Stupid boys, all of them. She was one of only a small handful of girls in the class, and somehow the boys had chosen her as their target dummy over the others. Why, she would never know. Surely they knew to keep a respectable distance, lest her acid mist boil the flesh off their bones.

"Come over here and say that," she said through the tears that threatened to fall.

"Hey, I think she really _is_ crying!"

Mei remained rooted to the spot, but her fingers itched to summon her chakra and melt those cruel smirks off their faces. "I'll kill you. I can do it."

"You're not the only one Yagura-sama wants to graduate," said the biggest boy of the group. "The three of us are stronger than you, anyway."

"Three on one's a rip off," a masculine voice said from directly behind Mei, startling her. "Let's even the odds a little."

Mei peered over her shoulder at what seemed to be a potential defender. She took in the slate tint of his skin and the flak vest that marked him as a Chuunin. But what truly caught her eye was the red stitching across the left breast that marked him as one of the up-and-coming Seven Swordsmen. The other boys didn't notice, or maybe they didn't care.

"Oh look, your knight in shining armor. This is why girls are no good. Can't do anything without men."

"I'm just as tough as some boy," Mei said, returning her attention to them.

"Hey wait, that's Hoshigaki Kisame," one of the boys said. "Let's just get outta here."

"What? Don't be such a pussy."

"Yeah, he's nothin' special. 'S against the rules to attack Academy kids anyway. He can't do nothin' to us."

Kisame took a step forward. "That rule only applies if you get caught," he said with a grin as he rested a hand on the hilt of his tanto.

Mei frowned. She may have been a girl, but she was no pushover. If there was one thing she'd learned from growing up with her father, it was that no one listened to the weak. Anger finally bubbling to the surface at being dismissed, she pushed past Kisame while finishing a round of hand seals.

By the time the bullies noticed her advance, it was too late. Mei's cheeks swelled and spewed forth a jet of magma. What followed were screams and a sloppy retreat, and one boy was too slow to avoid the lava entirely. His wailing sounded like that of a dying animal as the liquid heat burned through his pant leg and the skin of his thigh to the bone underneath. The other two boys yanked him along, horrified.

"Freak!" one said over his friend's shrieking.

"You're so dead for this!"

Mei wanted to chase after them and just kill them for real, but a strong hand on her shoulder arrested her movement enough to make her stumble. Livid, green eyes turned on her restrainer, and she found Kisame watching her carefully.

"That was a bold move, kid."

"I don't need your help."

"I can see that."

He released her shoulder and she righted herself.

"They're going to whip you for that," he said, the look in his eyes unreadable.

Mei glared into the distance where the boys had run off. "I don't care."

Chuckling drew her attention back to Kisame. "I guess that's why they picked you. You're a weird girl."

"And you're a monster."

Kisame grinned, and for the first time Mei noticed his teeth were unnaturally sharp. "Aren't you one to talk."

Mei was about to respond to that when Utakata's voice called her name from the distance. He was running toward her and waving, but it didn't look like a friendly greeting. Those boys must have already reported her little temper tantrum to the Academy overseers.

Kisame looked between Mei and the approaching Utakata, grey eyes calculating. "They call me a monster," he said, drawing her attention once more, "because I'm easy to spot from a distance. But I'll let you in on a secret, Terumī Mei."

Mei had not been expecting him to know her name, and it showed on her face. She wasn't even a Genin, and he was a Swordsman in training. Why would he ever notice a grimy little ant like her?

Kisame leaned in closer and wiped the excess lava, now cooled and congealed for lack of chakra to heat it, from the corner of her mouth. He rubbed it between thumb and forefinger before continuing. "We're all monsters. Some of us just hide it better behind pretty masks."

"Mei! Hey, Mei!" Utakata said, finally within hearing distance.

"I'm not a monster," Mei said.

Kisame studied her as though she'd said something amusing but not funny enough to merit a laugh. "You'll have to be if you want to survive."

Utakata finally caught up to them and doubled over panting. He looked between Mei and Kisame, hiding his surprise at the sight of a Chuunin hanging around an Academy student. But there was no time to throw questions.

"They're looking for you, Mei," he said between breaths. "What the hell did you do this time?"

"She bit back," Kisame answered for her as he turned to leave.

Utakata watched him with no small degree of suspicion, but Mei ignored him.

"I don't care what they do to me," she said with startling conviction for an eight-year-old. "They deserved it."

"I bet. Let's just get outta here before they find you."

Mei nodded and let him take her hand as they scuttled past Kisame. She turned back to look at him over her shoulder and found him watching them, sharpened teeth bared through the rising fog.

They turned a corner and Kisame was gone.

* * *

"Insolent little bitch. Did you think you could _run_ from me? Did you?"

Mei kept her eyes trained on the dirt floor and tried not to shiver. She knew the price to pay for mutilation of a fellow Academy student outside the battle arena, but she did not want to appear weak or worse, remorseful. Utakata stood against the far wall, his hair appearing almost grey in the washed out fluorescent lighting as he awaited his own punishment for abetting her escape.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Shin'ichi asked, although it didn't seem like he cared to listen either way.

"They were making fun of me, so I made them stop," Mei said.

He shook his head, oily hair swishing limply. "This is why I'm against female recruits. You're lucky you're the best of your clan, or I'd sell you to the whore houses instead. They wouldn't pay much for an ugly little runt like you, though."

Mei said nothing even as the anger boiled within her and chakra burned beneath her skin. The last time she'd talked back to Shin'ichi, she'd earned herself a beating that had left her bedridden for a week. Her father had screamed at her the whole time, leaving her with little time for sleep or peace. But he never did more than give her a good smack across the face. He'd never dare, unless he had a death wish.

"Get over here, girl. I'm going to give you a beating you'll never forget—"

"What's all this?" a voice said from the entrance to the chamber.

Mei froze, recognizing that voice instantly. True fear gripped her as the knowledge that she'd now done the one thing her father told her never to do.

"Ah, Yagura-sama, please don't bother yourself with this. I'm just punishing a student for bad behavior. Standard procedure."

Footsteps, light like a girl's, approached from the right. Mei dared not avert her gaze from the hole it was burning into the ground.

_Please go away, please go away, please go away—_

"Let's see that cute face."

A hand on Mei's chin nearly made her scream, but she bit her tongue so hard it bled. Yagura tilted her face upwards to catch the light. If she'd looked him in the eye (she didn't), she would have seen the unfeeling hardness in the Fourth Mizukage's lavender eyes as he scrutinized her face, still slightly plump with timeless baby fat despite his age.

"Terumī," he said after a moment. "What's your given name?"

Mei swallowed the blood in her throat and kept her eyes focused on his upper lip. "...Mei, sir."

"That's right. Terumī Anzu was your mother. I can see her in you under the filth. How sad for you to lose her without ever knowing her."

It was a cruel game he played, this young prince, just to watch the anguish in others. He liked to say cruelty brought out the truth in people. But Mei was too terrified even to respond, much less understand. If he wanted, he could kill her now and never think twice about it.

Yagura smiled, and Mei wished she could disappear. "And what is Utakata doing here?"

Shin'ichi cleared his throat. "He tried to hide her, but my people found them at the shore. He'll get his punishment when I'm done with—"

"He most certainly will not," Yagura said. "Utakata is not to be harmed. I thought I made that clear."

Shin'ichi sputtered and wrung his hands nervously. "Oh, ah, yes sir, of course. It must've slipped my mind."

"I don't doubt it. You're incompetent and weak. I'd hardly expect anything more."

Shin'ichi smartly remained silent, but Mei could almost feel the dirty look he was aiming at the ground. Yagura finally released her, and she nearly fell over as the feeling returned to her body. Resisting the urge to rub her face, Mei stole a glance at the Fourth Mizukage. He was a short young man with soft lavender eyes, boyish in his looks but as hard and cold as a winter storm.

"Do you know why you're alive, Terumī Mei?"

Mei shivered at being addressed directly. Still, she dared not look him in the eye.

"It's because you have talent, and I think that's what this village needs. I have high hopes for you, just as I had for your mother before you came along. Do you understand me?"

Mei nodded.

"The Mizukage asked you a question, girl," Shin'ichi said.

"Yes, sir," Mei said.

"I saw the damage you did to that boy," Yagura continued. "Normally I'd have you whipped bloody for something like that, but in your case I'll refrain."

Mei's eyes snapped up in shock. He wasn't going to punish her?

Yagura smiled at her expression. "I'm not an unreasonable man. I want the best shinobi with me, so why risk scarring you?"

Mei swallowed, green eyes flickering toward Utakata.

"However," Yagura said. "I also want my shinobi to be loyal. And I've learned over the years that loyalty, like obedience, has to be carved into the soul to ensure its...indelibility."

Two shinobi that had accompanied the Mizukage suddenly emerged from the shadows and grabbed Mei's arms, pinning her with meaty hands. Panicking, Mei knew she shouldn't struggle but could not help herself.

"Hey, what're you gonna do to her?" Utakata said from his place at the wall, alert and ready to intervene. "You said you wouldn't punish her."

"For demonstrating her skills? No. But I'm going to teach her a lesson about acting freely," Yagura said, not even bothering to look at Utakata. "My shinobi only kill when _I_ order it."

Yagura cracked his knuckles slowly, watching as Mei's eyes followed his every movement. "Mei, did you know that under ideal conditions, some corals can theoretically live forever? With enough sunlight, they can thrive unrestricted."

Mei watched his left hand as it began to glow with eerie green chakra. That wasn't the color normal chakra was supposed to be. Was it Yagura or his demon? Was there even a difference?

"It's actually quite fascinating, you know. Your chakra is superheated because of your bloodline limits, so in effect you're like a living, breathing sun. Coral would take to you beautifully."

"Please," she said as he approached. "Please, I-I won't do it again."

Yagura smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "I know you won't."

He grabbed her thigh with his glowing hand and she screamed. The agony was unbearable, like nothing she'd ever felt before, and it was growing from within her. Vaguely, she heard the sound of flesh ripping and felt something warm splash her leg.

"No, stop it! Stop it!" Utakata said somewhere in the distance.

Just as Mei was about to relinquish her grasp of consciousness, Yagura leaned into her ear and said, "You're mine. Don't ever forget it."

She passed out to the sound of his voice ringing all around her.

* * *

"Mei! Hey, Mei..."

Mei frowned in her sleep, wishing she could escape that sound. Phantom fingers shook her with intention to rouse, but she didn't want to give into them. If she opened her eyes, _he _would be there.

"Wake up already, c'mon."

Green eyes cracked open and took in a blurry vision of black and blue. She could not speak for a few moments. When she blinked the memories of Yagura and his haunting half-threats faded, a sight that nearly made her cry in relief replacing them.

"Finally," Utakata said. "I thought you'd be out of it forever."

Now that she was awake, Mei noticed she was back in her room in bed with the shutters drawn and only an oil lamp to light the cramped space. She tried to sit up only to find that she had a massive headache, which promptly shoved her back into bed. Groaning, she raised a limp hand to her forehead, wondering when she'd smacked her head. "What happened?" she asked, throat parched.

Utakata was silent for a moment. "You don't remember?"

Visions of a dark room, dank and dirty, and cruel, lavender eyes returned to her. Alarmed and uncaring of her migraine, Mei fumbled for the spot on her thigh where Yagura's insidious coral had taken hold and forced its growth through her bones. There was nothing.

"What... Where did it go?"

"Where did what go?"

"The coral. It was here, growing. E-Everywhere, through my skin...everywhere. It hurt so bad." Green met gold, and Utakata suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"He used a genjutsu on you."

"Genjutsu?"

"Yeah, when he walked in. Grabbed your face and then you kinda lost it for a while. They had to drag you out."

Mei's heart was racing as she processed this new information. It was all an illusion? She tested her leg again, and sure enough it seemed as normal as ever.

"I thought he was gonna kill you for a minute," Utakata said.

Unbidden, tears prickled her eyes. "I thought so, too."

Utakata nudged her legs and sat down on the bed opposite her. In the dim lighting, his eyes shone like cut amber. He looked sinister like this, but Mei had never felt safer than when she was with the feared Jinchuuriki. Lying back, she tried to will away the pounding in her head.

After a moment, Utakata got up. "I better go before your dad finds me."

He shouldn't have been here at all, she reasoned, but solitude was the last thing she needed right now. "Wait."

A small hand tugged weakly at his salt-stained shirt, and he rolled his eyes. "You're being silly. Just sleep. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Just for a little," she pleaded, suddenly feeling terribly embarrassed but unable to help it.

Utakata peered at the only girl bold enough to call herself his friend. The little boy in him wanted to push her away, the demon to devour her whole. But in his heart, he knew he would never deny her anything. She'd given him more than anyone ever had, and there was nothing in the world he would deny her.

"Okay," he said, pulling out his bone flute. "One song, then I'm outta here."

Mei nodded and sank into her pillow, moving only to push her tangled bangs out of her eyes for comfort. Utakata took a breath and began to play softly, the notes like warm whispers meant to soothe and lull.

She was asleep in a matter of seconds.

* * *

**Story Notes: **This is a bit of a biography of _Naruto'_s resident badass Lady Kage, Terumī Mei, in many ways. I'll be following her from childhood to post-Fourth Shinobi World War. There will be lots of romance, but please be patient with me, as always. If you're interested in Kirigakure, unsung minor characters, and the schemes of shrewd women (and men) in politics, you're in the right place.

"Chimera" has three definitions, for those of you who may not know:

1. The first is the proper noun, Chimera, or the name of the mythological fire-breathing she-beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. Bellerophon slew her while riding Pegasus.

2. The second definition is a fabrication of the mind, especially an unrealized dream.

3. Finally, the third definition is a biological anomaly resulting in a part of the body composed of tissues with diverse genetic makeup, such as having one green eye and one blue. All three meanings are highly relevant to this fic.

Additionally, I believe the whole Mei losing her shit when someone mentions her age or single status cliche was made purely for (exaggerated) comic relief that caricatures the primeval notion that women over 30 are hopeless spinsters whose social lives are pretty much over for lack of a husband. Even though this could be considered true to _varying_ extents in some parts of East Asia today, that's not going to be the case in this fic because I'm not writing a comedy here.

Anyway. Shoving the inner feminist back in the closet and getting on with the story. I'll keep the author's notes to a bare minimum, so thank you in advance to everyone who alerts, faves, and leaves logged-out reviews. You guys keep me going!


	2. Pawn

Chimera, chapter 2: Pawn  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
Notes: Don't freak out, but I'm mixing up the ages at Chuunin promotion a bit to keep people together (you'll see what I mean). I don't think it's a big deal considering nothing else really changes, but be aware that _I'm _aware that I'm deviating from canon before you point it out to me in a review. Yeah.

* * *

Eleven was on the older side for Chuunin promotion, but the rules of engagement (three-man teams) put restraints on Yagura's ambitions no matter how good his candidates were. This year, only one team had survived the mortality rates of Academy Graduation in time for the Exams, held in Kumo. Mei had the great honor—or misfortune—of being on that team.

"Get through the preliminary group exercises. I don't care how. I'm sure I don't have to explain to you three that _failure_ in the singles round is not an option."

Yagura glared down at Mei and her teammates over his nose. Unlike his fellow Kage in attendance, he declined to don his Mizukage robes. A shrewd man by nature, the deep impression cast by appearances was not lost on him: Kage regalia exuded an aura of leadership, but shinobi garb reminded onlookers of the reason he was a Kage in the first place and a Jinchuuriki in the second. While the Kage of other villages mingled politely in their shared private box, Yagura kept to himself and his ANBU guard.

"Yes, sir," Mei and her teammates said in unison.

"Just get it done."

Yagura left them to await the group exam, which would place them in the wilds of Lightning Country for the better part of three days hunting elusive paper trophies and trying to remember _not_ to kill the competition. Mei watched Yagura walk away and leave her team with the others preparing to embark on a wild goose chase.

"Finally, thought he'd _never_ leave."

Mei cast Ringo Ameyuri a glance askance. Her bright, red hair hung in bushy pigtails over her shoulders framing angular cheekbones, like cut marble—undiminishable and off-putting. She was armed to the teeth with all manner of curved kunai, daggers, and chokutō. A swordsman by training, Ameyuri nonetheless excelled at lightning-based chakra manipulation, a rarity for Mist shinobi. She was on track to becoming a member of the Legendary Seven Swordsmen, the most prestigious shinobi ranking in the Bloody Mist.

"Shut up, Ameyuri. He's got ears everywhere, and you know how he feels about insolence," said the lone boy in their three-man team.

_Hozuki Mangetsu_.

Mei appraised him as he faced off against his future Swordsmen colleague. His attractive, pale complexion and deep, indigo eyes failed to soften his otherwise acute, calculating nature. Mangetsu was something of a prodigy in their age group, gifted with the sword and ninjutsu alike. He was a tactician by nature, a strategist concerned only with the win and the most efficient way to get there. She had never seen him smile, and she wondered if he knew how.

"Screw him," Ameyuri spat. "He doesn't care about us, and I sure as shit don't care about _him_."

Mangetsu rolled his eyes and decided not to egg her on. It wasn't worth it. Mei resisted the urge to tug at her short hair, a nervous habit.

"Anyway," she said. "We have a job to do."

Ameyuri glared at her, dark eyes thin as slits. "You know, I still can't figure out why _you're _here. Everyone knows Yagura's training up the new generation of Swordsmen, and you can't fight for shit. So, what gives?"

Mei bit the inside of her cheek. Ameyuri was the only other female who'd survived the Academy Graduation slaughter, aside from Mei, and it was not surprising that the two of them had never been friends. With such a low survival rate and even lower frequency of female shinobi in Kiri, it was better not to keep friends than to risk inevitably losing them at graduation.

Also, Ameyuri was notoriously cruel and cared little for anyone but herself. Mei, however, could be just as cruel.

"It's true that I can't fight with a sword like you and Mangetsu," Mei said, forcing a smile. "But I got something just a good." She dropped the facade and glared at Ameyuri. "And Yagura made me the leader, not you."

Acid steam leaked from the corners of Mei's mouth, misting in the air but lingering just out of reach of Ameyuri and Mangetsu. Ameyuri stepped back, hissing when some of the mist singed her nose.

"What the hell!"

Mei glared and balled her small fists. Her poison draped her like a cape. "_Don't_ you forget it."

Mangetsu said nothing as he peered at the poisonous mist surrounding Mei. He reached out a hand toward it, and his fingers liquefied when they came too close. Mei and Ameyuri stared, their previous animosity forgotten.

"That's interesting," Mangetsu said as the mist joined with his water and made a hissing sound.

"Don't touch it," Mei warned, but she immediately bit her tongue and regretted the warning. What did she care if he hurt himself? He should know better if he'd managed to stay alive this long.

Mangetsu pulled away and his hand solidified once more. He appeared to be unharmed. "That's very interesting."

"_All Chuunin candidates report for the group examination."_

Mei, Ameyuri, and Mangetsu followed the loudspeaker to a post at the mouth of a vast rock jungle, where the other Genin teams from various villages were gathered. A Jōnin proctor dressed in Kumo's traditional garb stared at the teams gathered, bored. He yawned and gestured vaguely, as though counting.

"Uh, okay, guess you're all here. So let's just get this over with," he began. "Basically, find the treasure scroll and bring it to the finish line, which is gonna be that tower over yonder." He pointed to a tall rock spire miles in the distance. "You got three days."

A young boy with wild black hair and goggles raised his hand and waved it around. The proctor ignored him.

"So, uh, any questions?" the proctor asked.

The dark-haired boy continued to wave his hand around and began to jump as though he had to pee. Mei frowned. His hitai-ate marked him as a Konoha shinobi.

"No one?" the proctor asked.

The Konoha boy made a whimpering sound, but still the proctor remained willfully oblivious.

"How many treasure scrolls are there?"

A stocky boy wearing a headscarf that barely concealed the most eye-catching facial tattoos stood with his arms crossed. He hadn't bothered to raise his hand but clearly expected a response.

The proctor smiled. "Ah, good question. There are only ten treasure scrolls, but sixteen teams. So, well, if you don't find one and bring it to the finish, you're out."

The Genin mumbled among themselves. The Konoha Genin who'd just about had a heart attack raising his hand grumbled something about how _he _was going to ask that. Mei narrowed her eyes as she thought about the implications of this information.

"We have to find one of those damn scrolls," Ameyuri whispered. "Yagura'll skin us if we get disqualified."

Mangetsu said nothing as he continued to stare ahead, his gaze faraway. Mei nodded but remained silent, too.

"Oh, and one more thing," the proctor said. "Um, this isn't about killing each other, so try to keep that to a minimum. The real exam starts in the final one-on-ones. And you need your whole team alive to qualify."

There was more grumbling to be heard from the gathered Genin, but Mei tuned it out. Her team had to find a scroll and get to the finish line as soon as possible without risking any confrontations with other teams. But that meant reigning in both Ameyuri and Mangetsu, a feat which would no doubt prove challenging.

"Okay, so, I guess go? Remember, three days," the proctor said, waving them off.

The Genin teams took off, some at a sprint, others at a more sedate pace. But within the span of three minutes, there was not a soul in sight. Mei and her team absconded into the jagged rock forest away from the other teams.

"What the hell're we doing? We should be taking the others out!" Ameyuri said as they broke under the shadow of a hanging rock precipice.

Mangetsu looked around, silent. She rolled her eyes at his nonchalance.

"Seriously? Are you even in there?"

Ameyuri poked him in the bicep, but he merely liquefied and her hand sank through to the wrist.

"Ew! Aw, gimme a break! That's so gross!"

Mangetsu didn't spare Ameyuri a glance as he continued to scope the area. Mei watched the exchange in silence, thinking.

"We're better off finding a scroll and getting to the finish without running into trouble," she said. "But that means we can't draw attention. Think you can do that, Ameyuri?"

Ameyuri whirled and advanced on Mei. "Listen, Princess. So ya got a few neat tricks up your skirt, cool, whatever. But you're not better than me, got it? I could gut you faster than you can burp up that nasty gas."

Mei held her teammate's gaze and lowered her chin. "I'm no more a princess than you are. I'll ask you again. Do you think you can hold it together long enough not to get us into trouble with the other teams?"

Ameyuri flushed with anger.

"Don't be so loud," Mangetsu said as he stared in the opposite direction, very still. "This is one fight I don't want to waste time with."

Ameyuri frowned and was about to redirect her anger on him, but Mei pushed past her and drew up next to Mangetsu.

"What's happening?" she asked.

Mangetsu narrowed his eyes and squinted into the distance. Rock spires, thicker around than a house, rose like trees in the densest of forests. Some were dappled with natural caves and crevices. A golden eagle squawked and took to the air hundreds of feet overhead, its sharp eyes turned toward the earth in search of prey.

"One of the Konoha teams is fighting the Suna team. Listen."

Mei strained her hearing, but she heard nothing but the wind.

"Are you kidding me? This is _such _bullshit!" Ameyuri hissed, joining her teammates and crossing her arms. "That should be us in there. We have to get rid of the competition."

Mei gritted her teeth and snatched one of Ameyuri's pigtails. With her other hand, she held a curved kunai to Ameyuri's throat and punctured the skin.

"No, we don't," she said softly, ignoring the chakra in her veins that began to boil and writhe like a living thing inside her, wanting out. "We don't," she repeated. "Say it."

Ameyuri bared her teeth and reached for her own kunai, but Mei twisted her weapon deeper into Ameyuri's neck, stilling her movements. Ameyuri merely grinned wider.

"Bitch," she spat.

"Back at you."

Mangetsu ignored them. Ameyuri's blood flowed in a steady stream from her neck wound, but she gave no indication of discomfort. Mei hid her inner bewilderment. No eleven-year-old, Bloody Mist or not, should have been so calm around her own blood and pain. Perhaps if she hadn't been the arrogant type, Mei would have admitted a grudging respect for Ameyuri. The Academy had made the girl strong, stronger probably than any other kunoichi in this fool's errand. But Mei had no capacity for respectful animosity. There was only empathy, a hollow, melancholic pull that manifested itself in a phantom pain at Mei's own neck, and she felt her own blood trickle from beneath filth-smeared skin, just as hot and just as sticky as Ameyuri's. And she didn't flinch, either.

"All right," Ameyuri said. "Don't draw attention. Got it."

Mei didn't back off right away and instead took a moment to inspect her teammate, the girl whom she was supposed to trust to have her back in this asinine circus show. The first impression that drifted through her consciousness was that Ameyuri was not Utakata. As a Jinchuuriki, Utakata was confined to Mist and therefore banned from the Chuunin Exams. Not that he needed some exam to prove he was worthy of promotion. But Mei had never been away from Utakata since they'd become friends, and as a result she hadn't slept much on the journey here. Ameyuri was angular where Utakata was soft and gentle, dark and shrewd where Utakata was warm and accepting. Everything about her was wrong, mismatched, off. Mei would not have trusted Ameyuri with so much as the first watch.

"Good," Mei said, pulling back and sheathing her kunai.

"Goddamn, I just washed this," Ameyuri grumbled as she scraped at the blood seeping into the color of her shinobi gi.

"Oh," Mangetsu said. "It looks like one of the Konoha teams got killed off."

"Already?" Mei asked, forgetting about Ameyuri and returning her attention to Mangetsu. "What happened?"

"Dunno. But there were three, and now there are two. We should keep moving."

Ameyuri grumbled unintelligibly, and Mei shot her a look.

"Whatever. Let's just find the damn scroll so we can get on with the real fight," Ameyuri said, avoiding eye contact with her teammates.

The three of them disappeared among the earthen jungle, silent as the fog that descended with the encroaching night.

* * *

Manmade madness.

What else could this be? To send eleven-year-old children (and yes, they were still children no matter what Minato said about how far they'd come, no matter what the Hokage approved on paper, no matter how good _he _was)—_children—_to this wasteland alone to face victory or the ultimate defeat was a heavy responsibility, a careless one. At least, it would have been if not for _him_.

"The sooner we get one of the scrolls, the better. There's a limited number," Hatake Kakashi said from a short distance in front. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he walked, and despite the form-fitting mask he wore, it wasn't enough to tame the shock of silver hair he'd inherited from his late father.

"Yeah, and _I'll_ be the one to find it. Don't you forget it, Kakashi."

Uchiha Obito bared his teeth in a grin as he watched his teammate's back while they walked through the rocky maze. His hands were folded behind his head, where his fingers threaded through dark, tangled hair that was getting too long too fast. There was never any need to wonder at what he was thinking because he was more than happy to announce it either with his words or with his flamboyant actions. He swiped a kunai from its holder at his hip and twirled it in anticipation of some phantom threat lurking around the corner, or perhaps the perceived one walking along in front of him.

Nohara Rin bit back a smile as she tucked her short, brown bangs behind an ear to see him better. "As long as one of us finds it, that's what matters. We're a team, aren't we?"

Obito dropped the curling grin and beamed at her. "Yeah, you bet! And we'll definitely get one and get out of this stink hole. I mean, if our _fearless leader_ agrees."

Kakashi ignored his teammates' banter, and Rin spared Obito a bright smile. "Of course he does. Minato-sensei's counting on us."

At the mention of their teacher, Obito's look turned somber and he leaned in close to Rin. He whispered, "Y'know, I bet this is some kinda ploy to seal the deal for his Hokage appointment. Once we're Chuunin, we won't need him and he can, you know, take over the world."

"Minato-sensei would become Hokage whether or not you pass the exam, Obito," Kakashi called from ahead. "There's no need for you to lose sleep over it."

Any good humor Obito had derived from the excuse to cozy up to Rin vanished, and he brandished his kunai at Kakashi. "I'm not losing anything over it! What's that supposed to mean? You think I won't pass or something?"

Kakashi said nothing and continued to scan ahead. Rin sighed and put a hand over Obito's kunai, lowering it.

"That's not what Kakashi meant. Minato-sensei's just obviously going to be Hokage either way, that's all. We should pass this exam so we won't have to burden him. What do you say?"

Obito flushed at the contact of her bare skin on his, and his reaction made Rin blush in turn. But she maintained the contact lest he change his mind about lunging at Kakashi.

"Um, yeah, of course. I mean, like I said: I'll find the scroll. We're practically guaranteed to pass!"

Rin couldn't fight the smile that bloomed across her face. "Definitely," she echoed his enthusiasm.

She was too distracted to notice the furtive glance Kakashi cast back at them, dark eyes unreadable. Unlike Obito, his thoughts were anyone's guess, and anyone was usually wrong.

"Let's just keep moving," he said. "The other teams are strong. I don't want to make any enemies unless it's really necessary."

* * *

Mei stared intently at a pattern of cracks in the rock face that was her lonesome view as she lay on her back trying to convince herself that it was okay to sleep. It was the first night of the exam, and she'd already heard a boy's blood-curdling death rattle in the distance, witnessed a strange, black smokestack that did not smell like any campfire should have smelled, and followed in the destructive footsteps of one of the other team's decimation of about a square mile of rock forest for no apparent reason. The macabre atmosphere didn't addle her; rather, Mangetsu's staring did. After seven minutes and twenty-two seconds of it, she'd had enough.

"What do you want?" she bit out, not bothering to spare him a glance.

"Do that acid mist thing again," he said readily, as though he'd been counting the seconds just as she had been.

Mei's short hair tickled the back of her neck, like it was curling in on itself at his request. She resisted the urge to bite her lip, barely. "What for?"

Ameyuri was a short distance away keeping watch, as she'd been doing for the last half hour. Mei wasn't getting any sleep in soon.

Mangetsu's violet eyes appeared black in the pale moonlight. Despite the chill in the air, he didn't shiver in his sleeveless shirt. "I wanna try something."

Mei narrowed her eyes and shot him a look over her shoulder. "This isn't a game, you know."

"Sure it is."

At his easy retort, Mei hesitated. "What're you talking about?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. It's always been like that, don't you think? I kind of like it like that. If it's a game, there's gotta be a winner."

"If you say so."

"So come on, do it again."

He was standing and had a height advantage, one which Mei was determined to rectify now. They were young, and while Mei was no paragon of physical presence, she was of a height with Mangetsu and held her head high.

"Not that I care, but it's dangerous. If we're going to win this, hurting you would be a stupid idea."

"Stop being a wuss and just do it already," he goaded.

Mei was taken aback at his jab, and it showed. Not one to be called a coward, she ignored her lingering reservations. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

A simple deep breath was all it took to summon the familiar, burning chakra to her throat. When she opened her mouth, a thick, roiling mist snaked out of it and tested the air with delicate tendrils, snatching it up as it moved. As before, she controlled its range so it wouldn't touch Mangetsu. But also as before, he reached out to grasp it.

"Mangetsu—"

His hand liquefied on contact as before, hissing as some of his water turned to steam under the poison mist's potent influence. Mei watched him, curious as to why he would want to subject himself to unnecessary suffering, when all of a sudden his submerged hand manifested its solid shape.

Mangetsu bared his teeth a little, the only sign of what Mei knew full well was agony. "Huh, thought so."

Before she had a chance to question him, he removed his hand from the mist and hid it behind his back.

"What's so?" she demanded.

Mangetsu eyed the mist that still curled around the crisp, night air all around Mei, who stood oblivious to it at its center. "If I can control it, you can, too."

His vague responses were grating on her nerves. "Control what?"

"The mist's acidity. You can manipulate it. Or at least, you should."

They called Mangetsu a prodigy of sorts, though from the time she'd spent with him up until this point, she had a bit of trouble getting _why_, exactly. He did nothing to distinguish himself or draw attention to himself in their Academy days. He barely said anything unless it was necessary or prompted. And he gave nothing away freely. He wouldn't even show her his abused hand, and for an absurd moment Mei had the thought that it was perfectly unscathed, that her technique hadn't worked on him. Preposterous.

As though reading her mind, he showed her his hand, and she could only gape at its pristine condition. No welts, no oozing sores, no boiled skin and tissue.

"How...?"

He waggled his fingers at her, but instead of answering her question, he answered his own. "All you have to do is alter the pH level to make it more basic. That's what I did when I hydrated. Do that, and it's not poisonous anymore."

"Why would I want to do that?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. Never mind how and why _he'd _been able to do it.

Mangetsu shrugged. "No one said the game was every man for himself."

He retreated to get a little sleep while Ameyuri was still on watch without another word. Mei watched him go, hackles raised and poised to strike, but there was no reason. Her mist coiled around her like fingers, itching to stretch out but reluctant to wander beyond its master's reign. She brought her hand up through it, watching it disperse between her fingers. Harmless.

* * *

On the morning of the third day, Ameyuri was about ready to slit the throat of the next living creature she came across. She'd begun muttering to herself as her soles crunched over the gravel underfoot. Mei tried to ignore the noise, but there was little she could do to appease Ameyuri. After all, they were just about out of time and the frustration was justified. Mangetsu lagged behind with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the sky, seemingly bored. Mei couldn't decide which was more agitating: Ameyuri's anxiety or Mangetsu's nonchalance.

"Aaaahhhh, this is _bullshit_. I say we track down some other team and just take their scroll," Ameyuri said.

Mei stopped and turned around. "What other team? All I see are rocks."

Ameyuri rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a smartass. You know what I meant."

"It's not that easy, Ameyuri. Besides, the teams that found scrolls probably already went to the finish line. If we run into anyone, they'll be empty-handed just like us."

"You dunno that. Where's this magical finish line you keep going on about, anyway? This place is a freaking maze!"

Mangetsu strolled by them and stopped only when a fat, cracked rock spire blocked his path a short ways ahead of Mei. He put a hand on it and peered around it into the distance but said nothing.

"I don't want to fight with you," Mei said, trying to stay calm.

"Really? 'Cause I'm pretty ready to fight _someone_. And even you're looking good enough right now."

Mei frowned. "What's that s'posed to mean?"

Ameyuri smirked and crossed her arms. "Just that you're no challenge. But I guess I can't be picky out here."

Mei took a step forward. Rising to the bait was a foolish move, but no one called her weak and got away with it. "Say that again. I dare you."

"Ooohhh, what, you gonna hit me? With what? You don't even carry a sword! What kinda kunoichi are you, anyway?"

Mei had had enough. She brought her hands up in a seal and took a deep, lingering breath, ready to unleash the fires of hell upon Ameyuri and her big mouth, when Mangetsu spoke up.

"Someone's coming," he said.

He backed up and walked right in between Mei and Ameyuri, careless of Mei's pent up chakra and the twin blades Ameyuri had drawn halfway from their sheaths. It took Mei a second to register his words, but when she did she swallowed the heat in her throat.

Voices drifted around the stalagmites toward her.

She locked eyes with Ameyuri, who'd arrived at a similar conclusion, and dashed to follow Mangetsu. They took shelter behind a thick boulder and masked their chakra. The teams that had gathered for this exam were nothing to sneeze at, and running into one was low on Mei's wish list. From her hiding place, she raised a finger to her lips, signaling to Mangetsu and Ameyuri to stay put and watch lest they all be discovered.

"Man, this place is seriously one big maze," a boy's voice said. "I mean, we've been in here _forever_ and we _still_ can't find a way out."

He came into Mei's line of sight followed by two teammates. Kumo ninja, from their hitai-ate. The speaker was a young boy with dark skin and unruly, white hair. He sucked on something long and thin, a toothpick or twig, perhaps.

"Three days is hardly 'forever', Omoi," said the lone female of the group.

Mei's eyes lingered on her. She was blonde and blue-eyed, and most eye-catching of all was her pale skin—pristine, not a speck of dirt upon it. Mei glanced at her bare hands, which hid old grime under uneven fingernails and in between the natural grooves in her flesh.

Omoi sighed dramatically. "It feels like forever. I just wanna go home, I guess."

The third member of the Kumo team sauntered behind his teammates with his hands in his pockets, which he only removed to stifle a yawn. "Samui's right. You're exaggerating again. Anyway, we live here. Shouldn't you know how to get out of here?"

"Yeah, but not _here_ here. 'Sides, you're the team captain, Darui. Isn't it on you to get us out of here?"

Darui's limp, bleached hair hung over his dark-skinned face, like he couldn't be bothered even to swipe it to the side. He yawned again, and Mei wondered if he'd been up all night, too.

"Me? That's pretty dull. I already got us a scroll, so my part's done," Darui said.

"Your part's not done," Samui said. "We're a team. We work together."

Darui put up his hands. "Yeah, yeah."

"Still, I'm kinda glad you guys're here, too," Omoi said, grinning. "This place gives me the creeps."

"We _live here_." Samui poked him in the chest.

"Yeah, but not _here_ here. Didn't I just say that?"

Mei watched the exchange in tense silence, and at the revelation that this team carried a scroll, she could almost hear Ameyuri begin to salivate. This was their chance, and they were running out of time. There was no telling whether they'd have another opportunity to find a scroll, or if there were even any left lying around. Still, the idea of fighting these Kumo shinobi did not sit well with her after Yagura's warning about passing the exams. She hesitated.

And it was her undoing.

Ameyuri stepped out from hiding and confronted the Kumo shinobi. "So, you guys got a scroll, huh?"

Samui and Omoi jerked to attention and crouched into defensive positions. Darui eyed Ameyuri with a puzzled look but made no move to react otherwise.

"Uh, where'd you come from?" he asked.

"From behind that rock," she said, indicating the spot behind her.

Omoi peered at where she'd been pointing, as though to confirm that yes, there was definitely a rock there. Never mind that the entire landscape was nothing but miles and miles of rocks.

_Damnit_, Mei thought. _You ruined our element of surprise!_

Mangetsu peeked out from behind the rock he and Ameyuri had been hiding behind but said nothing. There was no use remaining concealed anymore. Mei stepped out, too, and joined her teammates.

"We'll be taking that scroll from you," Mei declared. "Hand it over."

Darui gaped at her. "What? Oh, I'm really sorry, but I can't just give it to you."

"These people are weird," Mangetsu whispered.

Ameyuri just stared at him like he'd grown another head.

"And I'm sorry you had to walk by here," Mei said. "But we're still taking it."

"Stealing another team's scroll instead of finding your own?" Samui said. "Not cool."

"Hey, you guys are from Kiri, right?" Omoi asked, noticing Ameyuri's hitai-ate. "Is it true that they call it the Bloody Mist 'cause the mist is actually the blood of dead children? I heard that's why there aren't many around."

In spite of herself, Mei clenched her fists and suffered a spike of anger over the way he spoke of her home. She caught herself, ashamed and flustered over the heated reaction. He wasn't far off the mark, if not a little too gullible. She had no love for the place, or so she'd convinced herself. It was the only place she had, though.

"The kids who survive come out strong," she said.

Ameyuri snorted, and Mei nearly lost her cool over the urge to smack the girl.

"Kiri nin, huh," Darui said, his eyes roving over their group slowly. "You guys fight with water."

Omoi grinned. "Yeah, they do."

"Darui," Samui said, a warning in her tone.

"Fine, you can have our scroll," Darui went on. He reached into his pocket and produced a small, beige scroll with a simple lightning bolt stamped on the seal in red wax. "If your team can beat mine, that is."

Mei bristled at his loaded words and the way he watched her as he offered them. She pegged him at a few years older than her, which meant he was bigger and probably stronger. And with that one little look, she felt naked, like he knew how this would end just after three minutes of conversation.

But he _didn't_ know.

"Deal," she said, raising a hand toward Mangetsu and Ameyuri. "If my team can beat yours."

Mangetsu held her gaze, understanding, but Ameyuri was too preoccupied with the impending fight to care. She licked her lips and rubbed the hilts of the daggers at her hips.

Darui grinned. "Samui."

Mei didn't even have time to be confused when a rush of wind slammed into her at lightning speed. She opened her mouth in a gasp, and even that was too slow. The girl called Samui stood just feet away from her holding a wicked chokutō aimed for Mei's neck. The only thing stopping it was Mangetsu's equally sharp blade. He now stood directly in front of her, so close she could smell him, and how he'd moved so fast when he barely found the energy even to blink was beyond her. Mei caught her breath, and Samui was already leaping backward, icy eyes narrowed and looking for a new opening.

"If it's swordplay you want," Ameyuri said, lunging at Omoi, "then you came to the right place!"

"Whoa!"

Omoi scrambled backward and drew his own sword, a long, curved, katana, to block Ameyuri's assault. She bared her teeth in a grin, pleased at his quick reflexes with a blade. Meanwhile, Mei recovered from the sneak attack that should have killed her if not for Mangetsu's timely intervention. He circled, stalking Samui and watching her every move as she sought another opening. Darui unsheathed his own sword, a broad, silver blade, which unfolded and snapped into place with a loud _chink_. Mei eyed it warily.

"Well, I guess we better get this over with," he drawled.

Mei gritted her teeth and jumped backward, anticipating a swift attack. Not a moment later, the ground beneath her feet exploded. Thinking quickly, she executed a hand seal and spit out a thick stream of lava. It hit the rocky earth with a terrible _hiss_. She landed against a tall rock spire not far away, holding fast with chakra.

Across the way, Darui had had a similar idea and now perched atop a rock pillar, though not without having suffered at the hands of her technique. The skin on his upper left arm was smoking and peeling away where lava had splashed him. He panted.

"Thought you Kiri lot were water users," he called.

Mei eyed his sword. If he got in range and engaged her in kenjutsu, she was sure he would outmatch her easily. Curved kunai could only do her so much good, and Ameyuri was right: the sword was her weakness. Lava could keep him at bay, but relying on it too much would raze the battlefield and those who fought upon it. Already, she caught Mangetsu veering to avoid the molten river Mei had created. This wasn't going to work as long as he and Ameyuri were down there. Unfortunately, Darui also picked up on this.

"Guess you'll have to think of something else. Neat trick, though. I got some, too."

Mei raised her hands to perform more seals. "You want water? I'll give you plenty!"

Below, the rubble marking where Darui's sword had hit the earth began to quake. Thin streams of water from the underground table shot into the air and converged into thicker ribbons. Mei directed them at Darui like lashes, hard and fast. They collided with the pillar he'd been standing on, cracking it but not felling it. The victory was short-lived, however, when something crackled in the air. The smell of ozone was Mei's only warning before lightning, yellow and bright, snaked along the water ribbons she'd sent after Darui and he wrested control of them from her. She hissed and released the technique while flinging herself toward another giant stalagmite. The electrified water hit the spot she'd been clinging to with a deafening _crack_.

But she wasn't out of danger yet, and Darui didn't give her a moment's respite. Mei lunged to the nearest stone pillar in an attempt to put some distance between Darui and herself, but she was too slow. Charged water lashes hit her back and seared through her clothing, eating at the skin underneath and raising pous-filled welts where the electricity burned her flesh. She cried out and stumbled, and the erratic movement was enough to avoid further abuse from her technique turned against her.

Back on the ground, she panted and blinked rapidly in an effort to see through the pain. There was no blood that she could detect, but she could hear the sound of the sores swelling with pous and her skin roasting. She bit her lip and dashed behind a nearby boulder. Darui withdrew his attack but didn't dispel it, and the electrified lashes followed him down to the ground as he searched for his opponent.

"Hiding's so lame. Just come out so I don't have waste time looking. Please?" he said.

Nearby, Ameyuri and Omoi were still clashing with swords while Mangetsu had his hands full liquefying and solidifying with each hyperfast slash Samui dealt. They were never going to win like this, and now it was obvious. These Kumo shinobi were strong. Attacking head-on wasn't going to work.

_If only Ameyuri hadn't ruined our element of surprise!_

But what was done was done. There was no use agonizing over it. Mei had to think of something that would take out all three of their enemies and keep them at arm's length. In short, only a miracle could save them now.

Just then, Omoi split from Ameyuri and rolled next to Samui, who barely spared him a glance as she thrust her sword forward to clash with Mangetsu's. Omoi grabbed her hand over the hilt and, just as the clash of steel sang in the air, he generated lightning sparks that jumped from the joined blades to Mangetsu's arm.

Mei gasped in horror as Mangetsu flew backward, past her hiding spot, and collided with a flat rock face. He liquefied on impact and dispersed, the water that made him up sparking and steaming. Mei ran after him, thinking the worst. Lightning was devastating against water, and Mangetsu was essentially made of the stuff. She crouched down and searched for signs of life in the puddles he'd left behind, and slowly they began to bubble and converge. Too slowly. His head materialized, followed by his shoulders and arms. From the waist down, he remained liquefied. Mei put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

He put a hand on his head but didn't meet her gaze. "I've been better."

She swore and turned back over her shoulder—

—just in time to see Ameyuri narrowly avoid Samui's sword to the gut and stumble to safety. She staggered backward a short distance from her teammates, and Mei noticed she was bleeding from her left flank, which she favored. The Kumo shinobi converged as a team, swords raised as Darui dragged along the sparking water ribbons Mei had inadvertently given him. The sight of them made her bristle with fury hotter than the burns on her back.

She stood up and walked toward Ameyuri. "Mangetsu, get up." She didn't wait for him.

Ameyuri wiped blood from the side of her mouth and side-eyed her team leader. "See you got your ass handed to you," she said, noting the lacerations on Mei's back.

"I see you did, too," Mei bit out.

Mangetsu joined them on somewhat shaky legs, still dripping and sweating profusely from the effort. But he stood tall and drew the tantō at his hip.

"Any ideas, ladies?" he asked.

"If you're plotting, hurry it up. The deadline's midnight tonight," Samui said as she brandished her sword.

"Whoa, hey, Samui, don't taunt them, okay? I'd like to get outta here with all my limbs still attached," Omoi said, smiling sheepishly.

Darui watched the Mist trio with a languid look in his eye, like he couldn't care less what happened next. "I'm really sorry, but you three are at a disadvantage against us. You're younger and smaller, but you also use Suiton. I'm sure you've noticed that Omoi and I prefer lightning. Maybe you should just call it quits?"

Ameyuri growled and stepped forward. "Not without that scroll, dumbass. You think just 'cause you can use Raiton, you got this in the bag? Think again."

Darui and Omoi exchanged a surprised look, but Samui was not deterred. "Big talk. I haven't seen you back that up at all. So not cool."

Ameyuri tried to step forward again, but Mei caught her arm before she could. Ameyuri whirled and yanked her arm free.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled.

"What we should've done from the beginning," Mei snapped. "We can't beat them alone."

"Way to give up. I knew you were weak, but I didn't think you were such a coward."

A part of Mei wanted nothing more than to put Ameyuri in her place, but those thoughts would not aid her now. Instead, she got right in her face and whispered, "You're the coward charging in alone when you have Mangetsu and me here to help you. Open your eyes and work with me. That's an order."

"Mei," Mangetsu warned. "We're out of time."

"Then we just have to do it," she said.

Ameyuri scowled. "Do _what_?"

"Just trust me."

"Enough talk," Samui said, aiming her sword at the three of them. "Darui, your call."

Darui grinned. "Let's just get this over with."

The Kumo nin charged and Darui dragged the electrified water lashes behind him, ready to flay Mei and her team with one fell swoop. But she was ready, and she only prayed that Mangetsu and Ameyuri were, too. If they weren't she will have put her faith in them for nothing. The Academy didn't teach children to work together; there was no point when one day, they would end up having to kill each other.

But she had no other choice, and if Mangetsu was right, then neither did they.

"_No one said the game was every man for himself."_

Mei laced her fingers together in a seal and sucked in a deep breath. When she released it, acid mist spewed out at a rapid pace and quickly engulfed the area. Darui and his team stopped their advance, wary of this new technique. Mei drooped her eyes and focused on her chakra flow, its intensity, its density, how far it dispersed. Mangetsu and Ameyuri had vanished from her side, just as the world had, too. There was nothing but the fog, too thick even to breath normally.

"You have a lot of neat tricks," Darui called. "But if I can't see, neither can any of you."

Mei registered his location somewhere to her right, and she retreated. Drawing a curved kunai from the pouch at her hip, she stepped lightly to minimize the chances of detection. Her chakra was redolent in the area, and whenever someone moved, she could feel it. Four figures milled around, and she gravitated toward the closest one.

"Ameyuri," she whispered.

Ameyuri grabbed Mei's wrist. "I can't see a damn thing. What'd you do?" she hissed under her breath.

"Never mind that. Here." Mei waved a hand and the mist thinned before them. "I can control the density and the acidity. I just never thought of doing it before."

Ameyuri put two and two together and grinned. "All right. Guess you're not _that _bad to have around. Come on."

The two of them crept through the thick haze until Mei stopped them and motioned ahead. Someone was there. Ameyuri motioned for her to stand aside, and Mei gave her a hard look. Ameyuri rolled her eyes and drew her twin tantō. Channeling her chakra, Mei was surprised to see sparks jumping from her fingertips. But before she could say anything or stop Ameyuri, the girl lunged.

Her aim was true.

Someone hit the ground with a grunt and a flash of brilliant light, and Mei's hair stood on end from the static in the air. Walking forward, she joined Ameyuri and her target: Omoi. He was passed out and bleeding from the left shoulder, but he was breathing. The wound sparked with latent electricity. Ameyuri kicked his side.

"You're not the only one who prefers lightning, punk," she spat.

"Omoi!" Samui called from somewhere nearby.

Mei yanked Ameyuri away from Omoi and they disappeared into the swirling mists again. Mei tracked Samui with her chakra; the girl was on the move, and fast. Mei doubled around, Ameyuri in tow, and put a hand on a nearby rock wall to rest. If they could just sneak up behind Samui, they could take her out quietly without alerting Darui—

"_Gahluhhgg_!"

A gagging sound reached them, and Ameyuri sprinted ahead, swords raised as Mei crept up behind her. When they found Samui, she was slumped on the ground with her hands around her throat. Mangetsu stood over her, his arm liquefied to the shoulder and jammed down her windpipe—drowning her.

"Whoa," Ameyuri said.

Samui convulsed and slumped to the ground on her side. Water spilled from the side of her mouth, and she didn't get up. Mangetsu re-materialized and joined his teammates.

"One more," he said.

Mei scanned the distance. The thick mist had soaked her clothes and hair, and it stung the wounds on her back. "Let's do this quietly," she whispered. "Come on."

Taking off at a run, she led Ameyuri and Mangetsu around intermittent stone spires, blind. Darui had decided on a height advantage, perhaps thinking he could escape the mist and gain the upper hand. Mei was not about to let him.

"Stay behind me," she hissed, throwing out an arm to block her teammates' progress.

With her other hand, she formed a seal and focused her chakra in Darui's direction. It intensified and thickened, and she put everything she had into it. In the distance, she heard a muffled cry of pain followed by a _thud_. Mangetsu took off and Ameyuri was hot on his tail. Mei released the acid mist and followed as fast as she could. With their sight returned, locating Darui was a simple task. He lay on the ground, trembling and gasping for air. Mangetsu hauled him to his feet and Ameyuri acquainted her sword with his throat. Bleary eyes focused on Mei as she approached.

"You're just full of neat tricks, kid."

"Hand over the scroll," she said. "We had a deal."

Darui's eyes swept over his fallen teammates. Omoi was starting to come to, and Samui had begun coughing up water as she doubled over on the damp ground. Darui chuckled.

"We sure did. Check my left pocket."

Mei did so and fished out the scroll he'd flaunted in her face earlier. Pocketing it, she backed away with Ameyuri. Mangetsu threw Darui onto the ground.

"Hey, you got a name?" Darui called after the Kiri team.

"I do," Mei said.

She signalled for Ameyuri and Mangetsu to follow as she dashed out of the area before Darui's teammates could come to. Darui watched them go and slumped.

"All right, then," he said to himself.

Omoi managed to drag himself near enough to be heard. "Man, that was rough. That chick came outta nowhere. I think I might need medical attention."

"Yeah, we'll go home. Help me with Samui."

They rose and approached their female teammate, who was still doubled over trying to regain herself. Darui hauled her up and grinned.

"Idiot, it's not cool to smile when we've just lost our shot at the exams," she snapped.

"Huh? But we still have this." Darui produced another scroll from his vest and waggled it in front of Samui's face.

She gaped, and Omoi sighed.

"Man, you had two all along and you didn't tell me? We could've avoided all that nonsense. Seriously, it's not like I _like_ putting my life in danger like that."

Darui shrugged. "I wanted to see how they fought. The Raikage did tell us to be careful of the Kiri team."

"With good reason," Samui said.

"Anyway, let's get outta here," Omoi said. "This place gives me the creeps, and now it's all moist and stuff. Kinda gross."

"We _live_ here," Darui and Samui said in unison.

Omoi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Well, congratulations on passing the first round," the proctor said, stifling a yawn. "Uh, wait here for them to announce your, uh, match partners. Yeah."

Last night, Mei and her team had acquired their scroll and raced to the finish line, one of ten teams that had advanced to the singles round. After some brief sessions with medical ninja to heal the worst of their injuries, they'd had a night to recover before today's final round. Fifteen matches would be fought in a day's time. Some would last as long as an hour, others mere minutes. Everything was left to chance and the drawing of names from a bowl. But unlike the first test, which had hinged on each team's ability to fight as a unit, these matches were one on one, and Mei had no qualms about pulling out every trick she had to gain the upper hand. Yagura's wrath would tolerate nothing less.

A hand on shoulder drew her from her thoughts. Ameyuri shot her a half-frown, half-smile. "Ready to fight?"

"I would ask you the same thing, but you're always ready," Mei said.

Ameyuri grinned. "Got that right."

She dropped her hand but didn't move. "Listen, Mei... Yesterday with that weird mist thing you did? That was a good move."

"You can thank Mangetsu for that. It was his idea."

She averted her eyes as though troubled, but said nothing of it. "Oh, well, whatever. It was a good move."

Mei spared her a glance askance but didn't manage to catch her eye. "...Thanks."

"It looks like the Kumo team also advanced," Mangetsu said, drawing up to his teammates.

The room they were in was made of metal and cement with benches lining the walls and an upper level cordoned off for the proctors. A large screen sat hanging from the ceiling at the front of the room with a view of the arena in which the Genin would be fighting. The Kage's booth could be seen on screen as the cameras swept over the crowd. Yagura sat with his short arms and legs crossed, flanked by two of the current Legendary Swordsmen, Kuriarare Kushimaru and Munashi Jinpachi. Their demonic swords, strapped to their backs, were perhaps more intimidating a sight than their respective wielders. Mei glared at the screen. Not for the first time, she wished Utakata were here.

"The Konoha teams are strong, too," Mangetsu went on. "Two of the three made it to the finals."

"Not as strong as we are," Ameyuri said. "They didn't have to beat the Bloody Mist to get here."

For once, Mei agreed with Ameyuri. And for once, she was grateful that she and Mangetsu were here with her. "We won't lose," Mei said softly.

"Okay, everyone listen up," the proctor announced from the upper level. "I'll call out the pairings as we go. Those called report to the loading dock immediately, got it?"

No one responded, but he took that as understanding.

"First up is...Baki of Suna and Uchiha Shisui of Konoha. Please report to the loading dock."

Whispers erupted from the group of gathered Genin. Mei watched as a young, dark-haired boy calmly approached the loading dock. She'd heard of the Sharingan, a terrible doujutsu capable of hypnotizing even the most formidable opponents, though she'd never faced it herself. Shisui's eyes were dark and soft, almost warm. She wondered what they would look like drowning in blood.

Time passed more quickly than expected, but Mei didn't bother to watch the matches on the screen provided. She'd seen enough bloodshed and faced the prospect of more to dwell on the suffering of others. She sat on a bench and pulled her knees to her chest, tuning out the other Genin.

"Hozuki Mangetsu of Kiri and Maito Gai of Konoha, please report to the loading dock."

Mangetsu locked eyes with Mei and nodded. She had the urge to stand and go to him, wish him luck or some other foolish errand, but he was gone before she had the chance. Mei bit her lip and resigned herself to watching his match on the screen. To her surprise, Ameyuri plopped down beside her.

"You do strike me as a loner, now that I think about it," Ameyuri said, pulling her knees up to her chest to mimic Mei's position.

"If I'm a loner, doesn't that mean I want to be alone?" Mei retorted.

Ameyuri watched her a moment, dark eyes contemplative. "You're really kinda mean, you know. What's wrong with you?"

Mei frowned. "Why do you care? You've only ever been out to get me this whole time."

Ameyuri sighed. "I said thanks, didn't I?" she grumbled.

A tense silence stretched between them, one that Mei had no idea how to break. Utakata had been her only friend for so long. Mangetsu was one thing, but Ameyuri? Another girl? A girl who clearly felt as threatened in a male-dominated society and as eager to prove her worth as Mei? No way.

"How'd you do it? The mist, I mean," Ameyuri tried again.

"Why should I tell you?"

"'Cause I wanna know, obviously." She scowled. "We're a team, right? That's what you said."

Mei's anger dissolved at those words. Team? Hardly. They had stumbled along in the dark, hoping for the best. And then, they got lucky. She still wondered if Darui hadn't let them win. His team was here now, so obviously they'd had a backup plan in the end. But still.

_But still._

"I guess there's no other word for us," Mei conceded.

Ameyuri nudged her shoulder and grinned. "So, spill. How'd you do it?"

Mei smiled to herself. "I told you, it was Mangetsu's idea."

"Yeah, fine, but how can _I _do it? You know, that'd be a great move with my lightning attacks."

"Yeah, I guess it would."

Mei spent the next ten minutes explaining to Ameyuri the mechanics behind her kekkei-genkai, and they discussed how it might be done with regular ninjutsu. The trouble was a water source.

"I guess you'd have to have one nearby," Mei allowed. "That's kind of annoying."

Ameyuri shrugged. "Plenty of water in the world. Mangetsu's practically made of the stuff."

There was no good reason and it wasn't even funny at all, but for some reason Mei couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, he is. Maybe you could use him."

Ameyuri threw her head back and guffawed loudly, uncaring of the stares she got. Mei shrank away at the looks, however.

"Good one, Lava Girl," she said once she'd caught her breath.

Mei frowned at the moniker. "That's pretty unoriginal."

Ameyuri leaned in and waggled her eyebrows. "Yeah, but it's fitting. Better use that when you fight. I bet these guys'll pee themselves when they see it."

Mei held her gaze and felt a smirk threatening to give her away. "I will."

"Ringo Ameyuri of Kiri and Omoi of Kumo, please report to the loading dock," the proctor's voice boomed through the loudspeaker.

Ameyuri groaned. "Oh man, you gotta be _kidding _me! Not that jerk again!"

She rose and Mei grabbed her wrist. "Beat him, Ameyuri."

Ameyuri pulled her hand away just enough so she could shake Mei's. "That's a promise of a lifetime, lemme tell you."

Mei smiled and Ameyuri jogged to the exit. Alone once more, Mei curled in on herself and resolved to just wait until she heard her name called. Mangetsu and Ameyuri were gone now, having done well enough in their matches to pass the exam. She was the last one, and the thought of Yagura didn't help bolster her confidence much. The hours passed until finally, toward the end of the day, her name was called.

"Terumī Mei of Kiri and Hatake Kakashi of Konoha, please report to the loading dock."

Mei immediately looked around to spot whoever her opponent was, but no one seemed to be walking toward the exit. She slowly untangled herself and ambled toward the appropriate exit on heavy feet. The proctor was there to meet her and escort her out. The doors opened to a cheering crowd of onlookers, Yagura among them, though Mei imagined he was not cheering or even smiling. The sun was bright and high in the afternoon sky. Its rays illuminated the battlefield, which was outfitted with a few trees, boulders, and even a small pond. The rest was open, barren sand.

Just then, a young boy strode up beside her. Mei turned to look at him, but the proctor prompted them both to march into the searing afternoon sun. All of a sudden, the crowd's cheering hit her like a slap in the face. Never had Mei experienced the weight of so many eyes, so many calls for blood. Academy Graduation had been a brutal experience, but it had been limited to the private eyes of her instructors and Yagura himself. A spectacle of this magnitude was unheard of in the Bloody Mist.

The proctor led her and the boy walking beside her to the middle of the arena. Once she got her bearings, Mei took a moment to glance at him. He was of a height with her, probably around the same age if she had to guess. His silver hair stood up at angles, untamable, but most striking of all was the mask he wore. She could only see his eyes, and they gave nothing away but darkness. The rest of him was hidden.

"Match is over when one of you forfeits, falls unconscious, or dies," the proctor explained. "Promotion depends on your performance, not on the outcome, but victory will be taken into consideration."

Mei barely heard the proctor as she continued to examine her opponent, a habit drilled into her from a young age by her Academy teachers. Most people gave everything away when they felt relaxed and safe, like right now. Kakashi, however, stood rigid and stony-faced. His mask hid his expression, and his dark eyes left little to the imagination. They caught her looking, and he held her gaze with an ease that gave her chills. She narrowed her eyes.

_Who are you?_

"There's no time limit, but try not to drag it out. It's getting late," the proctor went on. "Okay, begin."

He jumped to safety, leaving Mei alone with Kakashi and the jeering crowd.

"What are you looking at?" Kakashi asked.

Mei stepped backward as though his words bore an edge that needed defending against. "Nothing."

He reached over his shoulder and drew a short sword with a gleaming, white blade. When he swung it down, it left a blazing trail, a trick of the light, perhaps. Beautiful, but death usually was. Mei swallowed.

_More kenjutsu._

At least that made her strategy clear. She just needed to keep her distance.

Kakashi advanced. "Good."

It began.

Right away, Mei learned that more than his physical strength, his unreadable expression, and even his decent skill with the sword, Kakashi was _fast_. The match devolved into a one-way punching bag with Kakashi slashing with his blade and Mei twisting to avoid the blows. The crowd cheered, either for his advantage or her humiliation. With each cornering step, Mei realized the price she would have to pay for her lack of celerity and swordsmanship.

Gritting her teeth, she stayed her movement just long enough for Kakashi to sink his blade into her shoulder. Pain erupted from the entry wound and spread through broken bone and muscle. Blood warmed her skin and stained her blue gi, filling her nose with an acrid stench, but she pushed past it, long used to physical pain. Grabbing his sword hand at the hilt and holding fast, she held him in place long enough to exact retribution. Mei opened her mouth and released a noxious cloud of acid mist directly at Kakashi's chest and face.

Hard, green eyes watched as he recoiled in both shock and agony. Kakashi cried out and staggered backward, pulling his blade out of her shoulder with the movement. She let him go, taking the opportunity to put some distance between them. The crowd lauded the unexpected turn in circumstances, but Mei found no joy in their voyeurism. Instead, her attention remained focused on Kakashi, who was clutching his face and ripping at it. Shreds of navy material fell from his fingers—the remains of his mask. It had shielded his face from the brunt of her attack, but the blood running down his cheeks marked the areas where her acid had eaten through his barrier. A bare face stared back at her, lips curled in pain as adrenaline worked overtime to dampen it. Without his mask, he was baby-faced and young—just a boy her age too good to be left alone.

"Terumī Mei, was it?" he called, his voice raspy.

Mei glared in response.

Kakashi's breath was labored as he willed the pain in his face away. "Bold move. But I've never lost a fight," he went on. "I'm not about to start today."

Mei had heard enough. She laced her fingers together and resolved to end this before he could come close again. The chakra burned her throat and she relished in it, having forgotten about her wounded shoulder almost entirely. When she spat out a thick stream of molten lava at Kakashi, the crowd's cheering erupted into a sonorous roar.

Kakashi noticed the danger and didn't stick around to find out how bad it was. He bolted, but Mei gave chase. She spat both steady streams of magma and short, bulleted bursts, the latter of which were faster but covered less square footage. Kakashi was fast, she would give him that, but one wrong move and he'd be a goner. It wasn't long before the arena was covered in pools of undulating lava, brighter than the sun itself.

But Kakashi would not be deterred. He weaved among the pools and lunged for Mei, sword drawn, and she knew there was no dodging this time. The only recourse was to force his hand. She inhaled and spewed more acid, this time adjusted to be harmless, and faded within its depths. In a matter of seconds, the entire arena was engulfed in fog, taking Mei and Kakashi with it.

* * *

Yagura watched Mei's match silently from his perch in between the Hokage and Tsuchikage. He offered no reaction to her flamboyant display of her two kekkei genkai, but his colleagues did.

"That's girl's quite a monster," the Tsuchikage, Oonoki, commented. "Two kekkei genkai, eh? Yagura, I thought you lot didn't cultivate that."

Yagura smirked but otherwise didn't acknowledge Oonoki. "Not in bulk, at least."

The Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, shifted in his chair. "Still, Kakashi is one of our best. That girl is good, but there's no guarantee she can beat him."

At this, Yagura did react. He faced the Hokage and the two guards that flanked him. "I'm sure he is. But don't forget that my Genin have all passed. There's a reason for that, Sarutobi."

Hiruzen chuckled, and the wrinkles around his eyes crinkled even more, giving him the kind grandfather look. But Yagura was not fooled. This man was not to be trifled with.

"Yes, that's true! Your team this year is astounding. The ones you brought to the last exams, what where their names... Ah yes, Hoshigaki Kisame and Momochi Zabuza. Also quite formidable."

"Like I said, there's a reason for that."

"Your Bloody Mist regime has produced excellent results," one of Hiruzen's guards said.

Yagura glared at the young man. He knew what they said about Kiri across the continent, and that infernal name, _Bloody Mist_, was the worst of it. "You speak rather freely for a body guard."

Hiruzen chuckled again and waved off the confrontation. "You'll forgive my subordinate, I hope. After all, he'll be my successor shortly and I'm sure you'll want to pursue a mutually beneficial relationship. Yagura, I'd like to introduce Namikaze Minato. He also happens to be Kakashi's mentor."

"The pleasure's all mine," Minato said, smiling thinly.

Yagura instantly disliked the man. "Yes, it is."

Below, Mei was chasing Kakashi around the arena with her lava technique and razing the entire area. Soon, not much would be left but blackened pools of molten rock.

"Hm, if she keeps that up she may tire herself out," Minato said to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen watched the battle, eyes steady. "Ah."

Yagura repressed a growl and once more turned to the Konoha shinobi. "Care to put a wager on that?"

"Mizukage-sama, surely you don't mean to equate one of your prized kunoichi with a common show horse," Minato said.

Yagura laughed. "You have a lot to learn if you'll be a Kage one day. What good would a pawn be to her king if he couldn't count on her to destroy the opposition at his beck and call?"

"I'll take that bet," Hiruzen interrupted before Minato could respond. "What shall we wager for?"

"The only thing that matters." Yagura returned his attention to the battlefield, where Mei had somehow engulfed the arena in a thick mist that obscured Kakashi and her from view. The crowed hollered ever louder. "Victory."

* * *

Kakashi looked left and right, but the fog didn't let up. He couldn't see two feet in front of him, and despite the training he'd received under Minato and his natural calm under pressure, he began to panic. He'd never seen a technique like this, and even the thought that she was probably as blind in here as he was didn't offer much solace. She wouldn't put herself at such a risk. Or maybe she would. If she'd been willing to let him stab her just to create an opening, then there was no telling to what lengths she would go now.

He wandered, the Hakkō blade raised in front of him, as he struggled to breathe normally. The fog was so thick that he was soon drenched to the bone and swallowing water. It was just water, not like the acid spray she'd surprised him with earlier. His mask was totally disintegrated, and he felt naked without it. He rubbed his mouth.

How could some grubby little girl possess this kind of power? It was unheard of among his colleagues in Konoha. Techniques like the Sharingan and Byakugan were considered among the most deadly, but lava?

_What kind of place is the Bloody Mist?_

Everyone had heard the rumors of that hell on earth where children were raised to die killing each other and the Mizukage was a monster wearing a man's skin. To grow up in such a place and survive it... Kakashi couldn't imagine what that might be like.

Perhaps it would be something like this.

A nick in his left bicep made him jump and whirl into position, but he could see nothing. Tensing, he soon felt another slash in his calf. As fast as he could, he swung Hakkō around with deadly intent, but only a few strands of auburn hair fell to his blade.

"If you were just going to blind me, why bother destroying my mask at all?"

She didn't respond, but he heard the telltale shift of feet over the rocky ground and lunged. His fist collided with something soft, and he wrestled her to the ground. Angry, green eyes glared up at him, and he raised Hakkō.

"Like I said, I've never lost a battle."

He brought down the blade in her already wounded shoulder, and Mei dissolved into water, drenching him anew. Kakashi dismissed his mistake in stride and rolled, narrowly missing a swipe from a nasty, curved kunai. The real Mei came at him with a ruthlessness he hadn't picked up on until this moment, when she was merely inches away. Hakkō caught her kunai and they parried.

The clash of steel rang through the arena as Kakashi and Mei tried to unbalance each other, all while carefully sidestepping the gurgling pools of lava. The breeze was starting to dissipate the fog she had created, and the faceless masses came back into view. Caught in a battle of strength, Kakashi pushed on Hakkō while Mei held her ground. They were stuck in a stalemate, and one he intended to break first.

Channeling chakra through his entire body, sparks jumped to life and gathered at his hands. Mei noticed the change and tried to break the contact, but he was too fast. Freeing up a hand, she lost her balance as he swung around and delivered an electrified punch to the side of her face.

Mei went flying, and Kakashi ran after her. She rolled stop, incredibly, through a lava pool. Kakashi skidded to halt to avoid the molten mixture, and Mei struggled to stand. Sparks danced across her face and made her hair stand on end. Her skin would bruise later, but already welts began to rise, red and painful, along her temple. The crowd in the stands cheered their approval, and Kakashi saw her cast them a look of abject hatred. She spit blood from her mouth and struggled to stand among the bubbling magma beneath her feet.

"It's over," Kakashi said. "You can barely stand."

Mei bared her teeth like an animal, feral and cornered. "Yeah, it is."

Her voice was steady and deep for such a small, mangy girl. It was Kakashi's last thought as she slammed her hands into the lava at her feet and the battlefield exploded.

The lava drained from the pools around the arena and burst from the earth in geysers. The rocky ground split and spat up jagged chunks that flew at Kakashi, who had to scramble to avoid them. He dodged to avoid a sharp rock spike and was on a collision course with a lava spout—certain death. Gritting his teeth, he swerved to avoid it (narrowly) and slammed headfirst into flying debris hard enough to see stars. He crumpled to the ground, and some of his hair burned off when it got too close to the spewing magma.

Voices screamed in his ear, far away, as his vision began to double. Something warm and sticky got in his eye, and it was forced to close. He finally rolled over and threw up water and bile as he gasped for breath and consciousness. Nearby, Mei struggled on her hands and knees, barely conscious herself, but he caught her words:

"You lost, Kakashi."

Magma bubbled near his head, and he was sure she would finish him, roast him until even his bones turned to ash. But the magma didn't move, suspended in its flow as she stared, one eye swollen shut with electric burns. He heaved and winced at the burn in his throat, never mind the throbbing in his head that probably indicated a severe concussion.

"Your victory," he conceded.

Her arms shook, like it was too much effort just to stay upright until the medical team could retrieve.

"No," she said. "It's not."

Sleep had never sounded so good, but Kakashi fought to stay conscious until the medics could retrieve him. His dark eyes drifted to the booth where he knew Minato and the Hokage were watching the fight. He supposed Mei's Mizukage would be there, too. Silent players watching their pieces collide. He could have laughed, but he only puked up more bile.

The medical team arrived with a team of Suiton users who extinguished the magma. Hands without bodies pulled at Kakashi and lifted him off the ground.

The crowd roared in his ears until they rang.

* * *

_Thanks to all the reviewers! I'm sorry for not getting back to everyone, but I figure you all prefer I used my limited free time to update faster than to respond to reviews. I read all the reviews and I deeply appreciate your enthusiasm and your comments!_


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